This week I’ve learned a lot about my body and what it’s going to take in order to reach my goals. Last week I told y’all about the 6-week workout routine that will have guaranteed results called “Built For The Beach”. While this is a great work out for strength building and endurance I feel like it lacks an integral part of getting that lean body we all want. And that is my friends, CARDIO.

Cardio plays an important role in your routine if you’re looking to see definition and those cuts. Not only does it improve your physique, it also improves your health. I’m a huge fan of Mens Fitness. I believe they give great advice, and, once again I am going to give you all a proper routine to try out for your fat-burning, healthy-stimulating, crazy body building self!!

LOOK BELOW:

1. Go the distance Let’s face it, some training days can feel like a million bucks while others can feel like a dirty diaper. Instead of timing your intervals, go by how much distance you cover. This will accommodate for daily fluctuations in energy levels and will give you something different to focus on. The Workout: Set your treadmill to distance mode. Choose a set distance to cover per interval, say ¼ mile, ½ mile or mile. Run that distance as fast as you can. Follow that with an active rest (easy jog) running the same distance as the “hard” interval. For example, run a ¼ mile and jog a ¼ mile. Repeat for 20 minutes. Boom. Now pick yourself up off the floor and hit the showers. 2. Do the time Timing your intervals is one of the most common methods of interval training. The “Tabata Protocol” has exploded since its inception in 1996. This form of high-intense interval training is only 4 minutes long and is broken up into 20- and 10-second intervals. Basically, give ’er for 20-seconds and rest for 10. Repeat until the 4-minutes is up. There’s one stipulation though, the hard is meant to be at 170% max VO2, basically meaning 100x harder than balls-out. This is obviously SUPER intense and is quite difficult even for the fittest beast out there. Here’s a protocol to help you get to beast mode in 6-weeks. The Workout: On a spin bike, set the resistance to balls-out. In the academic study where the 20-10 protocol was tested, the subjects were seated for the entire protocol – you can either sit or stand or use a treadmill – it doesn’t matter, as long as the effort is maxed. Perform each workout twice each week. Begin and end each session with 5-minutes at an easy pace. Week 1-2: Start with the opposite – 10-seconds hard and 20-seconds easy. Repeat for 4-minutes. Week 3: Progress to 15-seconds hard and 15-seconds easy. Repeat for 4-minutes. Week 4: Progress to 20-seconds hard and 20-seconds easy. Repeat for 8-rounds. This will be slightly greater than the usual 4-minutes. Week 5: Drop the break to 15-seconds and stick with the 20-seconds hard. Perform 8-rounds. Week 6: Here we go! 20-seconds hard and 10-seconds-easy. Perform 8-rounds for four minutes of fat-loss hell.